Police track cases of trafficking of Venezuelan citizens

Ecuadornews:

Between last January and May, the police have rescued 35 women from Venezuela who were subjected to sexual exploitation in Quito, Manta and Guayaquil.

The judicial investigations show that the foreigners were forced to work in supposed spa services and even in a building destined for departments. The case of Quito was detected after eight months of follow-up and it was discovered that an Ecuadorian and a woman from Venezuela were behind the crime.

When officers entered the premises they found rooms that were used by couples,rescued 20 young people and arrested four other suspects. They are singled out for capturing young women through social networks.

The agents who know these cases detected that local gangs dedicated to these crimes have links with Venezuelan criminal networks. The mafias that are in that country look for possible victims, they send the data to Ecuador and from here,with an offer of work, they convince them to come.

These tracks led to Manta, where eight women who had arrived from Venezuela were rescued. The case is in the Manabi prosecutor’s office and the investigators requested that the affected ones enter the Unit that protects victims and witnesses.

Elite agents of the Intervention and Rescue Group entered the place where the women were and detained two people. The suspects were handcuffed and taken to the police vehicle. After performing intelligence work it was detected that the apprehended had the foreigners under threat of harming the families and offered their services to the tourists who arrived in Manta.

The costs were published on Facebook and these ranged between USD 30 and USD 150. In Guayaquil, the gendarmes also dismantled a criminal network. Seven Venezuelan women were rescued and three people of the same nationality were arrested after raiding a building located in the center of the city.

Tanya Varela, local police commander, explained that the case began after the girls could not pay the rent of three apartments, which cost USD 15 per day for each one. Because the debt was accumulated, the suspects forced the girls to earn it and sexually exploited them. The girls had to provide their services at parties or bachelor parties and used the 27th floor of the building. The authorities say that only 3% of all complaints of human trafficking involve foreigners.

In addition to the 35 cases that were found in operations, Alfredo López, legal advisor of the Venezuelan Civil Association in Ecuador, heard this year the case of 11 women and two men who reported to the Prosecutor’s Office.

This group has documented events such as that of Erick, a 25-year-old youth who arrived on August 15 at the Rumichaca bridge, the border between Ecuador and Colombia. A man offered him a job in a hacienda in Manta, as a loader of agricultural products. Erick agreed, but when he arrived at the place here alized it was a brothel. A person pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him if he escaped. They took his passport and forced him to prostitute himself,until he was able to use a computer. He wrote to his cousin, reported the case and was rescued. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/policia-rastrea-casos-trata-ciudadanos.html